


Babysitting Duties

by learashi



Series: Pet! Arashi [5]
Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animals, Fluff, Gen, Jealous Nino
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-25 22:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18711313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/learashi/pseuds/learashi
Summary: Nino whined as the kitten glared at him one more before jumping onto Aiba’s lap. Jun purred and kneaded his paws on Aiba’s thigh, turning his head to glance at Nino now and then, as if making sure that the dog has a clear view as Aiba stroked his hand along his spine.





	Babysitting Duties

**Author's Note:**

> Early birthday gift for Nino this time, with a whole bunch of furry Matsumiya interaction.

Prostrating himself on the floor, Sho stretched his arm under the sofa. “Please come out.”  
  
A hiss echoed from the darkness of the back corner and Sho yelped as a needle sharp claw caught the skin on his index finger. Snatching his hand back, Sho made a hasty retreat. Jun-chan seemed able to sense that Sho was planning a journey to do some research for his latest travel guide, and had been giving him a hard time all day.  
  
The small kitten had ignored Sho when he’d dished out Jun’s breakfast, walking away and leaving his special food untouched. Jun’s behaviour had gradually worsened as Sho packed his bag. Sho had spent ten minutes searching for his lucky socks only to find Jun gnawing on them in the living room. After extricating them from Jun’s mouth Sho had gently remonstrated with the kitten, resulting in Jun hiding under the sofa.  
  
“Jun-chan, I promise that I am coming back,” Sho said softly to the insecure kitten. “I'm not abandoning you. You won't end up back in that alley, all alone and frightened.”  
  
A small grey head popped out from under the chair and Jun stared at Sho with huge eyes. Jun attempted to sidle past his owner, only to be caught by Sho who cuddled him tightly to his chest, running his fingers through his fur. An involuntary purr rumbled in the back of Jun’s throat as Sho tickled him under the chin.  
  
“You’re going to love it at Aiba’s place, and you’ll have Nino for company too.” Sho carried Jun over to the carrying cage he’d purchased shortly after acquiring his unexpected pet. Unlike the common ones made of hard plastic, this was constructed of wicker and lined with soft purple padding.  
  
Once tucked securely into the basket, Jun mewled softly before sitting as far back as possible hunching himself up in a disgruntled mound, paws tucked up beneath him.  
  
Ignoring the pang of guilt which clutched at his heart, Sho picked up the basket and headed next door to the veterinary surgery.  
  
^.^  
  
A mournful yowling came from Jun as Aiba carried the basket containing the Russian Blue kitten upstairs to his apartment. The sound had commenced shortly after Sho had stroked Jun’s ears one last time before reluctantly heading out of the veterinary surgery to collect his luggage. Aiba held the basket up to eye level. “Shh Jun-chan, nothing bad has happened. Sho will be back before you know it. In the meantime Nino and I will look after you.”  
  
At the sound of his name, Nino yipped excitedly from the other side of the apartment door. Jun instantly stopped his unhappy noises, moving to the front of the basket and pressing his nose against bars, looking curiously in the direction of the noise. Aiba’s smile was one of relief as he gently bopped the kitten's little nose. “That's right Nino is going to be so happy to have you around for a visit.”  
  
But Nino didn't seem at all pleased to see the kitten emerge from the carrying basket and hesitantly begin to explore his new surroundings. The small yellow dog retreated to a safe distance, jumping up onto his favourite place on the sofa. He sat with his head tilted to one side as observed Jun.  
  
The kitten followed Nino, scrabbling to climb up onto the sofa behind him. Jun pulled himself up by digging his claws into the hanging end of the yellow t-shirt which protected the cushion where Nino always sat. Nino blinked in surprise as a tiny grey head appeared in front of him. With one curious nudge of his nose he accidentally knocked the kitten off the sofa, loosening Jun’s grip and sending him back down to the floor. Jun glared up at the yellow dog, narrowing his eyes and hissing.  
  
Aiba scooped up the kitten and sat down on the sofa, putting him down next to Nino. He scratched Nino behind the ears. “Come on Nino; play nicely with Jun-chan.”  
  
Nino whined as the kitten glared at him one more before jumping onto Aiba’s lap. Jun purred and kneaded his paws on Aiba’s thigh, turning his head to glance at Nino now and then, as if making sure that the dog has a clear view as Aiba stroked his hand along his spine.  
  
Flopping down with a sigh, Nino pointedly ignored Aiba and Jun, instead choosing to focus his attention on the television where one of his favourite shows was about to start.  
  
^.^

The next morning, after making sure that both of the animals had plenty of fresh water and a small amount of dry food available, Aiba shoved his phone into his pocket and grabbed his keys. He had a busy day ahead of him at the surgery and he wasn't sure when he would be able to make it back upstairs to check on Jun.

Nino was sitting in his usual place and wagged his tail as Aiba ruffled his ears. “No tv for you today, okay Nino? Little Jun-chan needs company.” Nino’s eyes followed Aiba’s hand as he picked up the remote, placing it out of Nino’s reach and his tail drooped.

Jun rushed over and pawed at Aiba’s ankle as he attempted to put his shoes on. The grey kitten's luminous green eyes showed his anxiety at being left alone. Murmuring soothing sounds, Aiba stroked Jun’s silky head, pulling a small ball with feathers attached out of his pocket before tossing it across the floor as a distraction. Aiba’s tactics failed as Jun ignored the toy, mewling sadly as he watched the veterinarian leave.

Nino hopped down from the sofa and padded over to the little kitten. He gave Jun a friendly nudge with his nose, only to be rebuffed as the small scrap of fur growled and stalked away. It seemed to Jun that he was being abandoned all over again. Jun made his way out onto the small balcony and sat in a bunched up heap in a patch of sun, ignoring Nino who batted the ball in his direction, yipping as he pounced on the toy in an attempt to draw Jun into a game. Already tired by his brief play with the ball, Nino retreated back to the comfort of the sofa for a post breakfast nap, leaving Jun to his silent misery.

^.^

Startled into wakefulness by a loud yowling, Nino almost fell onto the floor. From his perch on the sofa he could see a huge ginger tomcat balancing on the balcony railing, hissing and spitting. The cat lived in the next door apartment and apart from swearing at him occasionally it had never bothered him overmuch. Apparently though, this time it had spotted Jun and was unhappy at the sight of another cat in what it considered to be its own territory. Rather than running back into the apartment Jun was standing his ground, arching his back and puffing out his fur in an attempt to appear much larger than his actual size.

As much as the kitten annoyed Nino, there was no way that he could leave him at the mercy of the ginger cat. Flinging himself off the sofa Nino dashed out to the balcony as fast as his short legs could take him. Placing himself between Jun and the tomcat, Nino braced himself as the cat jumped down onto their balcony. Flattening its ears, the cat hissed and narrowed its eyes, tail lashing angrily as it crouched. Nino growled, baring his teeth and shielding Jun with his body. The huge cat stalked closer to Nino until it was within striking range as Nino braced himself for the inevitable attack. But there was a sudden flurry of movement behind him as Jun launched himself into the air, landing on Nino’s back. The kitten was a blur of grey as he ran up Nino’s neck, balancing on Nino’s head as he swiped his tiny paws at the ginger cat. Using all of his strength Jun raked his claws across the cat’s sensitive nose. Following Jun’s example, Nino jumped towards the intruder, growling and barking fiercely. Blinded by the pain in his nose, the tomcat beat a hasty retreat, stumbling its way back to his own balcony, feet scrabbling as it hastened to avoid Nino’s teeth snapping at his tail.

Panting from the unexpected exertion, Nino flopped down onto his belly while Jun hopped lightly onto the floor. A moment later a small nose touched Nino’s cheek as the kitten rubbed himself gratefully against him.

^.^

Later that evening Sho was riding in a taxi in Kuala Lumpur when he received a message from Aiba. “I told you there was nothing to worry about. Just look at this!”

Attached to the message was a photograph of Nino on the sofa in his usual spot, but this time there was a small grey kitten draped across his back, tiny head resting between Nino’s ears as they watched television together.


End file.
